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From My Mother’s Recipe Box: LemonSquares
Posted on December 8, 2010 | Leave a comment
Here’s a gem from My Mother’s Recipe Box. Who doesn’t love Lemon Squares? Whenever I go to a party and they’re served, I have trouble eating just one. Good thing I’m not a baker. (Maybe my lack of willpower is the real reason I don’t bake, rather than my usual excuse: I hate to measure!)
Add this one to your list for holiday baking, along with Coconut Macaroons, Jelly Cookies, and Sugar Cookies.
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Posted in My Mother's Recipe Box, Recipes
Tagged bar cookies, Christmas, cookies, food, food blog, foodie, holiday baking, Lemon Squares, My Mother's Recipe Box, Recipes
From My Mother’s Recipe Box: SugarCookies
Posted on December 7, 2010 | 2 comments
An all-time favorite at the holidays, sugar cookies are easy to make and a good choice for cut-out cookies, which can be decorated after baking.
This recipe was written by Mrs. H.A. Weller of 716 Hillside Street. I’m not sure what city Hillside Street is in but when I Googled the likely candidates from my mother’s connections (Providence, RI; Williamsport, PA; and Syracuse, NY), an address popped up in Syracuse!
To see this week’s previous holiday baking recipes from My Mother’s Recipe Box, check out Jelly Cookies and Coconut Macaroons.
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Posted in My Mother's Recipe Box, Recipes
Tagged Christmas, cookies, food, food blog, foodie, holiday baking, Recipes, Sugar cookies
From My Mother’s Recipe Box: JellyCookies
Posted on December 6, 2010 | Leave a comment
It’s Day 2 of a week of holiday baking recipes from My Mother’s Recipe Box. Remember Jelly Cookies? Those simple treats designed to be a vehicle for a mouthful of jelly? I love that explosion of sweet-tart fruit in my mouth, especially when they’re right out of the oven.
While this recipe calls for currant jelly, you could use just about any kind you choose. Or use a variety for a more festive presentation on your holiday cookie tray.
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Posted in My Mother's Recipe Box, Recipes
Tagged Christmas cookies, cookies, food, food blog, foodie, holiday baking, jelly cookies, Recipes
From My Mother’s Recipe Box: A Week of HolidayBaking
Posted on December 5, 2010 | Leave a comment
I’m not much of a baker. But when I read this morning’s newspaper, I saw tons of recipes for holiday cookies, so I got to thinking: Perhaps my baking friends would appreciate some classic cookie and candy recipes from My Mother’s Recipe Box.
Over the next week, watch for a classic baking recipe each day–from peanut butter cookies to lemon bars to sugar cookies. All from the 1960’s or earlier.
For starters, here’s an easy recipe for Coconut Macaroons.
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Posted in My Mother's Recipe Box, Recipes
Tagged Christmas cookies, Coconut Macaroons, cookies, food, food blog, foodie, holiday baking, life is fare, Recipes
From My Mother’s Recipe Box: CranberryRecipes
Posted on November 23, 2010 | 2 comments
If you’re looking for some cranberry recipes for Thanksgiving this week, here are a couple that I pulled from My Mother’s Recipe Box: Ten Minute Cranberry Sauce and Cranberry Apple Relish.
Apparently, the recipes came from Beaton Cranberries.
I’m not a big fan of cranberry sauce, myself, although I love cranberry juice. But I do have a recipe for cranberries that I love. Watch for that around Thanksgiving Day!
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Posted in My Mother's Recipe Box, Recipes
Tagged cranberry apple relish, cranberry sauce, food, food blog, foodie, life is fare, Recipes, you are what you eat
From My Mother’s Recipe Box: SpongeCake
Posted on September 22, 2010 | 6 comments
When was the last time you had sponge cake? For me, it was probably at a church function when I was a kid. I don’t know if anyone makes sponge cake anymore but I don’t make a point of seeking out a recipe for it since I’m not big on desserts. Yet, this Sponge Cake recipe from My Mother’s Recipe Boxcaught my eye because of its simplicity in ingredients and technique. Oh,and one little detail in the bottom right-hand corner of the card.
First, the simplicity: One of the reasons I’m posting these old recipes is because so many people, especially in the U.S., have lost the art of cooking. Sharing recipes on these 3×5 cards doesn’t seem as popular anymore either, with so many resources available on the internet. Look at how Mrs. Blanche McNamara typed up this recipe to make it fit on an index card. There aren’t many ingredients to begin with; on top of that, the instructions are short and easy to follow.
And, the detail at the bottom right-hand corner? Apparently Blanche goes by the nickname, “Mack.” Sure wish I hadhad the opportunityable to meet Mack.
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Posted in My Mother's Recipe Box, Recipes
Tagged desserts, food, food blog, foodie, My Mother's Recipe Box, sponge cake
From My Mother’s Recipe Box: Rose HipJam
Posted on July 18, 2010 | 2 comments
When I was younger, I spent my summers along the coast of Rhode Island, where half my family is from. I remember the Rosa Rugosa growing along the beach and next to the beach houses. Pink flowers in summer yielded rosy red hips at the end of the summer season. And with rose hips, came rose hip jam.
Here’s a recipe from my mother’s recipe box. (Last month Isaid I’d post some of the recipes fromthis boxover the next several months.) This one is from my grandmother, Ruth Sayer, who grew up in California but lived in Rhode Island most of her life after she married my grandfather.
Rose Hip Jam
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Posted in My Mother's Recipe Box, Recipes
Tagged food, food blog, foodie, Recipes, rose hip jam
From My Mother’s Recipe Box: PotatoPancakes
Posted on June 24, 2010 | Leave a comment
Stashed in the bookcase that holds all my cookbooks is my mother’s recipe box. It’s one of the keepsakes I’ve had since she died when I was young. And, it’s a treasure troveof recipes on index cards from the 1950s and ’60s.
What I like about this little collection is that the recipes are made from real food. While processed food was making its debut after World War II, apparently my mother was still following recipes she collected from her family and friends.
Or from a guy named Jim Bower at Cornell University, whose name appears on this Potato Pancakes recipe card. Don’t you love the simplicity of this recipe, all typed up neatly on a 3×5 card?
I thought I’d share some recipes frommy mother’scollection with you occasionally to remind us all that, once upon a time, people cooked from scratch. And maybe to inspire you to dig up some recipes from your mother or aunt or grandmother. Are they hidden in a box somewhere? These recipes that get passed down from generation to generation are the fabric of our culture–or, let’s say the bread and butter of our culture. The way processed food has infiltrated our food system over the last several decades, it’s important that we not onlyremember how to cook but alsocelebrate our heritage through realfood.
I’d love to hear from you: What are your favorite recipes that have been in the family for generations? Send them to me (with a photo if you have one) and I’ll post them on my blog.
Watch for more recipes from my mother’s recipe box over the next several months!
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Posted in Buy Local, Eat Your Veggies, Food Over a Fire, Happy Food, My Mother's Recipe Box, Recipes, What's for Breakfast?
Tagged food, food blog, foodie, life is fare, potato pancakes, Recipes, vegetarian, veggies, you are what you eat
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